Question

What happens to the temperature and thermal energy of water when it is heated in a pot on the stove?

Answer 1

Answer:

Both its temperature and its thermal energy will increase.

Explanation:

Objects are made up of particles. For example, water is made up of water molecules. The kinetic energy of a particle of mass $m$ and velocity $v$ is equal to $\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}\, m \cdot v^2$,  

• The thermal energy of an object measures the total kinetic energy of all its particles.
• On the other hand, the temperature of that object measures the average kinetic energy of all these particles.

Water in that pot gains energy when the pot is heated. That would increase the total kinetic energy of these water molecules.

What about temperature? Assume that the number of water particles in the pot stays the same- In other words, assume that water in the pot does not evaporate. As the total kinetic energy of these water molecules increase, their average kinetic energy would also increase. As a result, it would appear that the temperature of water in that pot has increased.